About Us

Smedley Station and Cadet Training Farm is a commercial agricultural training farm running sheep, cattle and deer, located in Central Hawke's Bay. We train young Kiwis to become the best future farmers of New Zealand.

Offering a two-year farm cadetship programme, from January to December each year, Smedley Station offers a unique agriculture training opportunity. Administered by Public Trust on behalf of the Crown, Smedley Station is run by an on-farm manager. Our manager is responsible for the running of the Station, including the organisation and coordination of both the theoretical and practical aspects of cadet training.

11 trainees are accepted each year for the two-year agricultural training course, meaning there are 22 cadets/trainees attending Smedley Station at any one time each year.

Smedley graduates are valued employees and work across a wide range of farm and agribusiness career opportunities.

A Slice of History

The farm was originally owned by “JOSIAH HOWARD”, who, on his death in 1919, passed it on to the Crown, to be used to provide agricultural training to the young farmers of New Zealand. The Howard Estate Act was passed later that year providing that Smedley Station be held by Public Trust in trust for the Crown, as a permanent endowment for the purposes of agricultural education.

The first farming and agriculture training course was opened in 1931 and, since then more than 600 young farmers have successfully graduated.

Agricultural Training Selection

11 students are selected from approximately 80-100 students who apply each year to go to Smedley Station. This enables us to offer the best farm training to our cadets.

We choose students who are extremely passionate about farming and are good team players too. Once selected, the cadets are set on a journey of life-changing experience.

The selection process includes interviews for some applicants All applicants will be advised in August whether or not they have been selected for interview. The results of the selection process will be communicated within 2 weeks of the interviews.

All applicants are highly encouraged to attend an Orientation Day.

When does training occur?

The farm cadetship training year begins in mid of January and ends close to Christmas.

Interested candidates/applicants need to submit their completed application form to Smedley Station by the end of July. Orientation Days are held in June each year.

Farm Cadetship Fees

There are no fees. Our cadetship training is fully sponsored by the trust. This covers all your on-farm food and accommodation expenses. All you need to do is to buy your own clothes, harness gear and dogs.